Here begynneth the first volum of sir Iohan Froyssart of the cronycles of Englande, Fraunce, Spayne, Portyngale, Scotlande, Bretayne, Flau[n]ders: and other places adioynynge. Tra[n]slated out of frenche into our maternall englysshe tonge, by Iohan Bourchier knight lorde Berners: at the co[m]maundement of oure moost highe redouted souerayne lorde kyng Henry the. viii. kyng of Englande and of Fraunce, [and] highe defender of the christen faythe. [et]c.

¶ Howe the countre of Uermādoise and the countie of saynt Poule were wasted / and sir Hugh of Chastellone taken. Cap. CC .lxix. (Book 269)

WHan the duke of Lāca∣stre was come agayne to Ca¦lays after the departyng fro Tornehen / and that he & his company had refresshed thē there a thre dayes / thanne he thought agayn to ryde forth and make some iourney into France. Than y^• two marshals / therle of Warwyke / and the lor∣de Roger Beauchampt / commaunded euery man to drawe into the felde / wherof euery man was gladde / desyringe to ryde in to Fraunce. Than they departed fro Calays in good ordre for euery man knewe what he shulde do. So y^• first day they went fyue leages / & the nexte day they came before saynt Omers / and ther had a great scrimysshe at the gate / but thēglysshmen rested nat ther greatly / but passed by and went and lodged on the morres of Hersault. And on the thirde day they came to Turwyn / & within the towne was therle Guy of saynt Poule with a great nōbre of men of warr. And thenglissh∣men passed by & toke the way to Hedyn / and y^t day they loged on a lytell ryuer. And whan the erle of saynt Poule sawe y^t thenglysshmen wēt towarde his countre / he knewe well they went nat thyder for his profyte / for they hated hym moche. Than he departed in the night / and de∣lyuered the cyte to the lorde of saynt Pye / and to sir Johan of Ray / and so he rode tyll he cam to the towne of saynt Poule. And in the nexte

mornynge the englisshe men came thyther / and made there a great skrymysshe / so that the com¦mynge thyther of the erle of saynt Poule was happy for them of y^• towne / for by hym and his company the towne was kept and saued / or els it had ben in a great aduēture of lesyng. Thus the duke of Lancastre and his companye toke theyr pleasure in the coūtie of saynt Poule / and burned and exiled all the playne countrey / and dyd there great domage / and he was before the castell of Perides / where as the lady of Dow∣aire was / and as the duke aduysed the castel / he gauged y^e depnesse of the dyche with a speare / howe be it he assyed it nat / but made a good face so to do / and so passed by / & came to a fayre castell called Lucheu / the whiche perteyned to the erle of saynt Poule / and so they burned the towne / and dyd nothynge to the castell. Than they passed further / and came to saynt Require The englisshemen rode on a day nat past a .iii. or foure leages / but euer they burned the coun∣trey as they went / and so they passed the ryuer of Somme at the planchesse vnder Abbeuille. And than they entred into the countrey of Ui∣meu / in purpose to go to Harfle we on the ryuer of Seyne to burne the frenche Nauy. The erle of saynt Poule / and {ser} Moreau of Fiennes con¦stable of France with a great nombre folowed & pursued in costynge the englysshe hust / wher∣fore y^e englisshemen durst nat ryde farre abrode out of the high waye / but euer kepte themselfe close to gether redy to fight with theyr enemies if nede were. And so thus they rode through Ui¦meu and the countie of Ewe / and entred into y^• archeby sshopryke of Roan / & passed by Depe / and rode so longe that they came to Harflewe / and there lodged. The erle of saynt Poule was gotē before them / and was entred into y^• towne with .ii. C. speares. So thus the englisshmen laye before Harflewe / but they assayled it nat. The .iiii. daye after they dislodged / and made theyr retourne through the lande of the lorde of Stouteuille / and so burned vp the moost parte of all his countrey. and than they came through Francquesin / and drewe toward. Oysemont to repasse the riuer of Somme at Blanchetache. The same season there was in the towne of Ab∣uille (as capitayne there) Hugh of Chastellon maister of the crosbowes in France / and whan he perceyued that the duke of Lancastre wolde repasse the riuer of somme / he armed hym / and caused a .x. or .xii. of his company in lyke wyse to arme them / & no mo. And so moūted on their horses / sayeng / howe he wolde go and se the ke∣pyng of the gate of Rowray / to thentent that if thenglisshmen passed by / they shulde nat se but that it were well kepte. This was early in the mornyng / & it was a great myst. And the same tyme / Sir Nicholas Louuaing / who in tyme paste before had ben seneschall of Poictou / and the same yere before {ser} Hugh of Chastellon had taken hym prysoner / and raunsomed hym at .x. M. frākes / the which stacke sore in his mynde / and had great desyre in his entent to be reuen∣ged / and to geat agayne that he had loste. The same mornynge he and .xx. with hym were de∣parted fro the duke of Lācastres host / he knewe right wel all the passages and straytes there a∣boute / for he had well vsed them the space of .ii. or .iii. yeres to gether. And so thought to putte hym selfe at auenture in a busshement bitwene Abbeuille and the castell of Rouuray / & so pas∣sed by a lyttell streyght way through a maryse / and rested hym in certayne olde wast & broken howses / a man wolde neuer haue thought that any company of englisshemen wolde haue lyen in a busshement so nere to the towne. So thus there / this {ser} Nicholas and his company kepte them selfe preuy. And so at last through y^e same waye came {ser} Hugh of Chastellon with x. with hym / all armed except his bassenet / the whiche his page bare after hym on a great courser / and so passed ouer the lyttell ryuer that was there / and thought to haue gone to haue spoken with the crosbowes that kepte the gate / to knowe yf they had harde any thyng of the englisshemen. And whanne sir Nicholas of Louuayng sawe hym / he knewe hym wel / he coude nat haue ben more ioyous if one had gyuen hym .xx. thousād frankes. Than he came out of his busshement and sayd to his company / come on syrs lustely / beholde yonder is he that I desire to haue / it is the maister of the crosbowes / I desyre to haue hym aboue all creatures lyuynge. Than he set the spores to his horse sydes / and cowched hys speare in the reste and came towarde sir Hugh of Chastellon and sayd yelde the Chastellon or thou arte but deed. Syr Hugh had great mer∣uayle from whens those men of warre came so sodaynly vpon hym: for he had no leaser to put on his bassenet / nor to mount on his courser. & whā he sawe he was in so hard a case / he sayd / to whom shuld. I yelde me / Sir Nicholas an∣swered / to Lauuainge. Than syr Hugh (to e∣schewe y^e perel of deth / for he sawe wel he coude nat flee) sayde / I yelde me. Than he was takē and sir Nicholas sayde come on and ryde with vs / behold yonder cometh the duke of Lācastre

and his company / who wyll passe here foreby. at the same brunt ther was slayne a valyāt bur¦gresse of Abuyle called Laurence Dancons / the which was great domage. Thus by great for∣tune was sir Hugh of Chastellon maister at y^• tyme of the crosbowes in france and capitayn of Abuyle / taken by sir Nicholas of Louuayne of whose takynge the duke of Lancastre was right ioyfull and so were all the englysshmen. Sir Hugh of Chastellons frendes / and y^• men in the towne of Abuyle were right sorie for his takyng but they coude nat amend it as at that tyme. Than the englysshmen passed the ryuer of Some at blanchtache / and than drue towar¦des the towne of Rue on the see syde / and so to Monstrell: and dyde somoche by their iorneys that they retourned agayne and cāe to the tow∣ne of Calays. And than the duke of Lancastre gaue all the strangers leaue to de{per}te / and so de¦{per}ted fro hym sir Robert of Namure / sir Uale∣ran of Borme / and the almayns. Than y^• duke of Lancastre retourned agayne in to England thynkyng to make no more warr tyll the nexte somer / for it was as thā about saynt Martyns day in wynter / but or he de{per}ted he sayde to the strangers / howe that whan he came agayne he wolde come moche more stronger / than he dyd at that tyme. Desyring his cosyns / the duke of Guerles and the duke of Jullyers / to cōe and mere with him to go into France. ¶ Nowe let vs leue to speke of the besynesse of Picardy / for ther was nothyng done in those {per}ties of a gret season after. And let vs now speke of the mater in Poitou / wher as moost dedes of armes fell.